Nate Latsch

I used to the think the comparisons between Hansbrough and David Lee were really off, but the more I see the kid I start to believe them -- a bit. David Lee had great athleticism in part because he wasn't very big when he was younger. When he had that growth spurt, he really became a dominant player. If he ever develops his jump shot he could be a very dangerous offensive player. I don't know if Hansbrough will get to the level Lee was at in high school, but he's not far off. Lee was a top 10 player when he was a senior. I anticipate Hansbrough being a top 20 guy, but he has the potential to move up if he can put on weight and muscle. - Nate

Roy, I was at the game I think you were talking about. It was the first game of the Eagles Invitational at Clayton High School. You're right. It showed how much ability Hansbrough has. I didn't think he was very good when I saw him play two games at the final four in Columbia. But Hansbrough has looked great with the Eagles, and is going to be a big-time player. - Nate

Tyler Hansbrough already has scholarship offers from Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and Marquette. He's going to be a great college player when he gets stronger. - Nate

I was only at the camp for about two hours on Friday, so it was tough to get a feel for how the local kids were playing. There were six games going on and I was trying to watch five of those games at once. I didn't get to include it in the story because I wasn't able to get statistics from the games, but Tyler Hansbrough was dominant throughout the week. I heard he had 37 points and 17 rebounds in the first game of the week. When I saw him play Friday, Hansbrough did a good job of grabbing board and attacking the basket. Even though he is 6-foot-8, there were a lot of kids at camp that were bigger than him. There were a couple 7-footers there, including a kid from Indianapolis named Greg Oden Jr. that Hazelwood Central coach Chris Pilz was raving about. Lisch looked really good, but I didn't get to see much of him. Lisch was on the same team as the kid Bryan Burwell wrote about in Friday's paper, a 6-10 youngster named Auri Allen. I read on another message board that Lisch was one of the top shooters in the camp. I don't remember seeing him shoot the ball in the game I watched, but he definitely made some good decisions with getting the ball to his teammates in position to score. Kyle Kirk looked a bit lost during the game I watched. I think it is because at his size (6-4) he had to rely on his teammates to get him the ball, and that just didn't happen in the game I saw. The major flaw in Kirk's game is his long-range shooting, though his mid-range game is really refined for a kid his age. I think Kirk was the best freshman in St. Louis this winter and I think he will end up being a good college prospect -- maybe even a great one. He already has the physical tools to play in college and has a couple more years to fine tune his game. I asked Kirk about the rumors that he was going to transfer before next season. He told me he was going to go to CBC -- sorry, DeSmet fans -- but then later admitted he was just kidding. He's a nice kid from a basketball family -- his sister, Hannah, plays at Southwest Missouri State -- and he's definitely a prospect for SLU fans to keep an eye on. The two biggest names at the camp were Jeffrey Jordan and Nic Wise. Jordan is a spindly 6-foot guard that is set to graduate high school in 2007. I didn't see him much, but from what I did see JJ didn't look very confident to try to shoot the ball or take it to the basket. He's still young, though, and obviously has some good bloodlines. He will develop into a good basketball player and maybe a great one. It has to be a lot to deal with, being the first-born son of the world's most famous basketball player. And no, I did not see Michael Jordan at SLU. From what I heard, Jordan was there the first night but hadn't been back since. Nic Wise is a kid only diehard hoop junkies have probably heard of. Wise is a 5-9 point guard from Katy, Texas, who I believe is entering his sophomore year of high school. And he has already committed to the University of Arizona. (I think Texas finished a close second.) From what I saw of Wise, he is very quick and a good passer. He isn't very big -- I guess you could say he has some baby fat -- but he looks like he is going to be a very good prospect. - Nate

Frank is a hoops junkie like most of the fans around on this board. I've seen him at several games/events that I didn't think he'd have any interest in. He does his homework. He talks about DeSmet too much and he doesn't know as much about high school basketball in St. Louis as some people -- like Earl Austin -- but he does a very good job. - Nate

I'll be there on Friday for two hours. I'm hoping to talk to all of the local kids to put together a story for Sunday's paper. I'll let you guys know whatever I find out. - Nate

The camp is not open to the public and is only open to the media for two hours on Friday. - Nate

One of the interesting things I've read about Shaw is how his brother grew a couple inches his senior year of high school. If Matt grows more, he would be a big-time prospect. He's still a very good player and he'll always be underrated because of his size. Even at 6-foot-6 or 6-7, I think he'll be an effective college player. The only question is where? - Nate

I really like Aaron Jackson's game. I was telling people late in the high school season that I thought Jackson would be the third-best prospect in St. Louis after Tommie Liddell and Kalen Grimes. He's kind of like a poor-man's Larry Hughes. Jackson is a better scorer than most high school kids. He shoots the ball well from mid-range and behind the arc. He has a ton of athleticism -- as much as Xavier Price. However, Jackson didn't show much in the two games (Friday night and Saturday morning) I saw him last weekend. He didn't look to score and just wasn't a factor when he was on the floor. I think Jackson is still a good prospect, more of a sleeper, and will be a good college player wherever he ends up. SLU would be a good fit for him because they need someone who can put points on the board. Jackson might not be strong enough defensively to impress coach Sodeberg. I think SLU should offer Matt Shaw, but I don't know who else is out there -- regionally, nationally and internationally -- that could offer the same skill set with more size. Shaw and Jackson are two guys that will go somewhere else to school and probably have Billiken fans wishing they were at SLU. - Nate